Evan Virtue from Thornton Heath was a soldier in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Greenjackets.

He was posted to Northern Irelandon three separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s.A gas mask was part of his equipment.

Evan Virtue

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Evan Virtue

Evan describes his experiences in Northern Ireland:

"There were times on my first tour when it was exciting and scary, at the same time. A riot would spring up and car bomb go off, and sometimes you had to chase gunmen at night. Let's say you learnt to move very quickly.

You don't really think about it, you just do your job. All of us were experienced guys. And you're trained to look out for certain things of what not to do.

Like never opening gates in South Armagh. You climb over the fence or through the fence. Cos all it takes is a couple of wires, and you open the gate. BOOM.

When I first went there were still Catholics who used to welcome us inside their homes. But as time went on some of these people were killed as sympathisers - the IRA told them not to fraternise with the army."

The conflict in Northern Ireland

In 1969, the British governmentsent large numbers of troops to Northern Ireland.

They were meant to keep the peace between the Catholic and Protestant communities.

Violence between the two communities, and against the police and army, lasted until the mid-1990s.Northern Ireland remains a divided society.